Parkside Theatre

Last year for a brief time during the ongoing remodel of this building, the original facade was exposed intact when the 1960s facade was removed. There was a single large arch in the center, flanked by gryphons, with three small arches over it. I had no camera with me so I sketched it instead, made color notes, and produced a fairly accurate color drawing. The gyphons and arches are gone now, though some basic traces of the facade (some flat inset panels and fluting) remain around the modern rectangular windows which were inserted. Now even the ornamental arches on the back of the stagehouse have been brutally hacked through with new windows, giving no regard to harmonizing with the existing features. Definitely the work of a second-rate architect unaware of history at all.

The original Wurlitzer organ from this 1928 theatre remained until 1938, when it was removed and spent many years in a Salinas church. Today it sounds fourth in the State Theatre (Golden State), Monterey, where it has been playing since 1994.

There are before and after photos of the Parkside/Fox Theatre showing the hideous 1960s remodeling of its facade on the website below:
http://www.outsidelands.org/parkside.html

The Parkside Theatre was located at 933 Taraval Street and it seated 1329 people. This theatre and the Warfield were the last theatres that were once part of the original Fox West Coast Theatre chain in San Francisco, that stayed with the company from open to close.

The Warfield was a Loews house for many years before it became a Fox house. My sisters dance teacher performed at the Loews Warfield during the 1940's. The last film I attended at the Fox-Parkside was the reserved seat engagement of "The Blue Max". I always thought it was odd that the Parkside presented road show films when most of these films were presented Downtown or at the Coronet or Alexandria on Geary.brucec

Despite its unfortunate gutting, Parkside's status should probably be considered "Closed" rather than "Closed/Demolished."

The Parkside opened on 28 Dec 1928 and the architects were the Reid Bros.
atmos.

The Reid Bros. were NOT the architects of the Parkside, though stylistically it appears much like a Reid atmospheric design. I do not have the actual architect's name immediately accessible here or I would post it.

The architects for the Parkside was a firm known as Clausen and Amandes. One of them had been an associate of the Reids, but the Parkside was not a Reid house.

The Parkside was far from a copy of the Reids' Golden State in Monterey or the Fairfax in Oakland, but there are certain similarities. I have large chunks of plaster that I lifted out of the Parkside's gutting in 1996. These were from the remains of the long covered-over organ screens. Since I own the Wurlitzer from the Parkside, I wanted some piece of the original plaster organ screen.
Thankfully I was able to break into the destruction zone without notice! Not-too-curiously, the colors that were part of the Parkside's organ screens, bear no resemblance to the Monterey Golden State screens.

Thanks Tom!

And yes, I said I own the Wurlitzer from the Parkside and this organ IS installed in the Golden State Theatre in Monterey. Hopefully this will clarify statements above regarding the organ.

I don't know about Monterey's Golden State, but one obvious thing the Parkside and the Fairfax had in common is that both were "L"-shaped theaters (though the Fairfax was considerably larger and had a mixed-use extension along the street parallel to the auditorium).

This is true about the Parkside and Fairfax, however, the Monterey Golden State is in the middle of a large block north to south, and cuts through from street to street going east and west. This allowed for a large facade of three stories with office and shop space accordingly.

From the SF Public Library website:

http://webbie1.sfpl.org/multimedia/sfphotos/aad-8077.jpg

This is also the Parkside, per the SF Public Library, but it's hard to imagine that this is the same building:

http://webbie1.sfpl.org/multimedia/sfphotos/AAA-9056.jpg

i used to work at this theater in the late 1970's. i had to beg the owner for this job. week after week i would go in ask if there was an opening. finally, after doing some volunteer time, i got the job. i loved working there. the concession stand sold ice cream and sandwiches, a nice change from the usual nuked hot dogs. being a film major at the time, i considered this place a way to advance my education. it did. I fond memories of this place, it was unforgettable.

One of the owners (and possibly the last) of the Parkside was Lester Gorn, who I believe taught screenwriting classes locally and was co-scripter of Beginning of the End, a 1957 science fiction film about giant grasshoppers which starred Peter Graves and Craig Stevens.

This was one of the strangest movie-watching experiences I ever had. I went to the Parkside several times in the mid-80's and was surprised that the only seats were in the balcony. When I looked over the rail I could see why - there were no seats on the ground floor, only children's toys from the daycare activities!!!

I co managed this theatre along with resident mgr. JoAnn Brown during the early 70's. We opened The Towering Inferno there. Opening nite brought out Natalie Wood Robert Wagner and the Aliotos. this theatre had a very friendly staff. They always made me feel welcomed when I worked there. This theatre was not very attractive. The outer lobby and marquee had all been "modernised". The original marquee and Box Office were much more attractive. Had a real Cheap Plastic look in the 70's. Larry Goldsmith

Here are photos from 1980 and 1986:
http://tinyurl.com/dkb88p
http://tinyurl.com/dmkuo8